Views of downtown are visible from Philosopher's Way, a 2.7 mile loop trail that was officially dedicated at McLaren Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.

Views of downtown are visible from Philosopher's Way, a 2.7 mile loop trail that was officially dedicated at McLaren Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Day hikers explore a section of Philosopher's Way at McLaren Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, after the new 2.7 mile loop trail officially opened.

Day hikers explore a section of Philosopher's Way at McLaren Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, after the new 2.7 mile loop trail officially opened.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Pablo Moreno and Carolina Furnaguera hike on a section of Philosopher's Way, a 2.7 mile loop trail that was officially dedicated at McLaren Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.

Pablo Moreno and Carolina Furnaguera hike on a section of Philosopher's Way, a 2.7 mile loop trail that was officially dedicated at McLaren Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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A marker at one of several musing stations on the route provides information about San Bruno Mountain and Visitacion Valley (background) on Philosopher's Way, a 2.7 mile loop trail at McLaren Park, in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.

A marker at one of several musing stations on the route provides information about San Bruno Mountain and Visitacion Valley (background) on Philosopher's Way, a 2.7 mile loop trail at McLaren Park, in San

(01-06) 11:19 PST -- The new Philosopher's Way trail, dedicated Saturday in San Francisco, meanders through McLaren Park, weaving onto vistas of the city and the Bay Area and into groves of redwoods and cypress.

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But to place a center of the region, even metaphorically, in McLaren Park was in itself a statement. To many of the residents and politicians gathered for the dedication, this southeastern corner of the region's defining city has long felt neglected, cut out of tourist maps and ignored by the downtown power structure.

"It's symbolic of the overall neglect of the southeast," said Barbara Gersh, a resident of the adjacent Portola neighborhood for the last 12 of her 31 years in the city. "After years of organizing, we're finally getting some attention to this park. It's wonderful - we hope it will continue."

In San Francisco, only Golden Gate Park is larger than McLaren, which encompasses 318 acres. But Supervisors Malia Cohen, John Avalos and David Campos - all three of whom represent the park- said it only receives a fraction of the spending.

McLaren, named after John McLaren, the longtime park superintendent who helped develop Golden Gate Park, is surrounded by several distinct neighborhoods - Visitacion Valley, Portola, Sunnydale, Excelsior and Crocker-Amazon. It includes various tree groves and open space, as well as the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. Several older women at the dedication said they walk there alone daily, defying perceptions that the park attracts crime. They said the park is a unifier.

"We don't have a lot of shops to gather around, so people gather here," said Joan Loeffler, who has lived in Portola for 16 years.

At key points of the trail lie 14 markers made by stonemason George Gonzalez - who, with Richards, built the wave organ near the Exploratorium. The Philosopher's Way markers, called "musing stations," try to evoke perspectives on history and are intended to stimulate contemplation.

Looking out toward the Cow Palace sits an etched black granite image of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke at the Geneva Avenue venue in 1964. Other musing stations describe native grasses, as well as the histories of Visitacion Valley and Excelsior.

Unlike the manicured and tourist-driven touches of Golden Gate Park, McLaren Park offers vast swaths of untouched open space. The space is ideal for contemplation, particularly given the bustle of daily life, Richards said.

"You can't ignore the amorphous boundary between urban growth and nature," he said. "This is a point where they come together. ... Managing that interface is really important for a city."

If you go:

The trailhead for the Philosopher's Way can be found at the parking lot southwest of the intersection of Mansell Street and Visitacion Avenue.